


To Kiss Or Not To Kiss

by legendarylezbian



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendarylezbian/pseuds/legendarylezbian
Summary: Prompt: Team TARDIS travels back to the Elizabethan era, and they have to perform one of Shakespeare’s classics.





	To Kiss Or Not To Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scarromanoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarromanoff/gifts).



_June 22, 1602 ___

__"All right, fam," The Doctor says, taking in the quickly growing crowd of people in the Globe theater. "No need to panic. We've had two weeks to prepare."_ _

__"I just don't understand how the course of history will be altered if we don't do this," Ryan murmurs, blowing the long feather on his cap out of his eyes. It lands in his face a few seconds later and he bats at it madly, causing Yasmin to giggle. "I can barely remember my lines."_ _

__"Queen Elizabeth will be in attendance," The Doctor says. "We don't want to put an end to Willie's career, now do we?"_ _

__Ryan shrugs. "I guess not."_ _

__"So...what did you find out? Is someone trying to sabotage the play?" Yasmin asks, brow furrowed. She can tell that the Doctor is a little nervous, which Yasmin honestly hadn't expected. She reaches out to soothe her, gingerly patting her upper back._ _

__Graham catches Yasmin's eye and smirks, and she tilts her head, her frown deepening._ _

__The Doctor doesn't acknowledge the touch, but she relaxes a little before straightening and turning back at them._ _

__"I have my suspicions. I think Robert Greene paid off some of the actors. He was smart; he persuaded the understudies too. He's a playwright as well, and rumor has it he might be a tad jealous of Shakespeare's success."_ _

__"So...how do we stop him?" Graham asks._ _

__Yasmin's hand falls to her side, and she tries to quash her disappointment as the Doctor doesn't even seem to notice. She's not sure what this feeling is, and there are definitely more pressing issues to focus on right now, but she can't help but flush a little as she thinks about the scenes they're about to act out...together._ _

__"I hadn't thought that far ahead," the Doctor admits. "Just dealing with a bit of stage fright."_ _

__"Oh. Brilliant," Ryan deadpans._ _

__Yasmin gives him a glare before clearing her throat. "Er...could I talk to you in private, Doctor?"_ _

__The Doctor nods just as one of the actors calls out that they've got an hour before curtain up. The two women walk towards the dressing room and Yasmin tries once again not to think about the role she's about to play. The most unbelievable part of this is that she's going to be Ryan's twin when the two of them look nothing alike._ _

__Makeup can work wonders, she supposes._ _

__Once she and the Doctor find a private corner of the dressing room, Yasmin takes a breath. "I don't mean to add to your stage fright, but I think we should talk about...that scene we have together. I mean..should we practice, just so--we don't mess it up? I mean, I've never..."_ _

__"Kissed a girl?"_ _

__Yasmin gasps, and she feels her cheeks incinerate. She's sure she could fry bacon on them. "Er...I--no. I haven't."_ _

__"We'll make it a quick cheek kiss, then." The Doctor grins at her, and it's as if she just transferred all her anxiety to Yasmin. If they have to tag-team a joint panic attack, how on earth are they going to make it through this?_ _

__

__\----_ _

__

__After she's got her makeup and costume on, Yasmin forces herself to walk past the mirror without looking at her reflection. That would just make her more self-conscious, and she feels uncomfortable enough already._ _

__The curtain goes up, and the others join her. When they hear the applause, they glance at each other, collectively noting how surreal this is. Even the Doctor looks dazed._ _

__Stage fright. Right._ _

__Without thinking much about it, Yasmin angles her elbow towards the Doctor, nudging her softly. Then she reaches for her hand, gives it a squeeze._ _

__The smile the Doctor gives her is worth all the harrowing hours she spent memorizing lines. She doesn't even care how stupid she must look. The Doctor herself is wearing a high collared black lace dress, and her hair is hidden under a wig. Seeing her in different clothes definitely throws Yasmin off a bit._ _

__Pretending they're different people shouldn't be too hard, but Yasmin still feels a flutter in her chest as the Doctor grips onto her hand, and she remembers that first mission months ago, how she'd put her hand on the Doctor's right before they'd pulled the throttle on the TARDIS._ _

__The first scene of act one is now over. It's time._ _

__Yasmin gives her 'fam' a two finger salute and strolls out onto the stage, stumbling a bit as she sees every seat in the house occupied. Not to mention, Queen Elizabeth. Not that she's one to dote on public figures, especially ones that condone religious persecution, but Yasmin can feel her eyes studying her and so it takes her a moment to remember her first line._ _

__"What country, friends, is this?"_ _

__She makes sure to enunciate, loud and clear, throwing her voice out so everyone in the circular theater can hear. She thinks about the scene between Rachel and Luce in Imagine Me And You, and her heart warms, dousing her nerves with firm resolve. She'd do anything to get the girl. To just stay with her, to travel the universe and encounter countless dangers, because she has never met anyone like the Doctor, and she doubts she ever will again._ _

__

__\----_ _

__

__So now the Doctor is flirting with her. And Yasmin is supposed to act like she's not into it because her character is actually in love with Orsino, a misogynistic asshole who can't take a hint and leave a girl who's clearly not into him alone. Yasmin always thought this play would be better without the stupid love triangle or the way the story gets tied up with a heteronormative bow to cover up the gay subtext._ _

__"If I did love you in my master's flame, with such a suffering, such a deadly life--in your denial I would find no sense; I would not understand it." Yasmin delivers the line without stuttering, but she has to look away. She fixes her gaze on the Doctor's shoulder, and then her mouth, and then she almost chuckles because the Doctor scrunches her face a little bit._ _

__The Doctor steps closer. "Why? What would you?"_ _

__It comes out breathless, and Yasmin's head starts to swim. She should have known better than to think she could act cool in front of the Doctor. Graham and Ryan both know how besotted she is. She'll just have to make that work in her favor, and so she pours all the emotions she's been repressing into her next lines._ _

__"I would...make me a willow cabin at your gate, and call upon my soul within the house; Write loyal cantons of contemned love and sing them loud even in the dead of night. Halloo your name to the reverberate hills and make the babbling gossip of the air cry out 'Olivia!' O, you should not rest between the elements of air and earth, but you should pity me."_ _

__Here, Yasmin steps back, but the Doctor follows. They're dancing around each other, literally, metaphorically, Yasmin doesn't know. She's suddenly overtaken with the thought that this is way too intimate to be acted out in front of hundreds of strangers. She's sure everyone can see how affected she is, except for the woman inches away._ _

__The rest of her lines become a jumble, but she gets through the scene before she walks off the stage. This is harder than she'd expected because she's suddenly capsizing from feeling like she's not going to get another chance. The next scene she has with the Doctor is the one where they're supposed to kiss, and she doesn't want to pass up the chance. She wants to know what the Doctor feels for her._ _

__"Hey," Ryan's voice coaxes her from her all-consuming thoughts and stands next to her. "I know the perfectionist in you must be self-flagellating right about now, but you're doing fine."_ _

__"Really? Because I feel like I'm spinning out of control."  
__

____

__"The Doctor doesn't know. She won't until you tell her, so don't worry, because we both know that's never going to happen."_  
_

__Yasmin scoffs. "I could tell her!"_ _

__"But...will you?"_ _

__Yasmin slumps against the wall. "I don't think so."_ _

__"You're not going to lose her," Ryan assures. "Even if she doesn't feel the same, and it's awkward between you two for a while, she cares about you too much to let you go. You know that. Graham and I both can see it, why can't you?"_ _

__"I don't know if I could just be her friend if that happened," Yasmin admits after a few moments, then groans. "I couldn't just like a barista or a fellow police officer. I just had to go and fall in love with someone who has been everywhere and everywhen." She bangs her head back against the wall and stares up at the ceiling._ _

__Ryan lets out a soft chuckle, then gives her a sympathetic look as he's signaled onto the stage. "Wish me luck," he says. "Both of us need it."_ _

__

__\----_ _

__

__Graham is playing Sir Toby, so he basically just has to act drunk. It's the easiest role out of all of theirs, so Yasmin kind of envies him. Her heart has been beating erratically for the past five minutes. Right now, the Doctor's wig is off, because it's very hot in the theater, and the dress she's wearing can't be helping. She's outside the dressing room, talking with Graham about something, but they're both too far away for Yasmin to hear._ _

__Once she walks up to them, they both fall silent. It's enough to spark a little paranoia, but Yasmin doesn't have time to ask about what they were talking about before she and the Doctor are waved onstage for their scene._ _

__Yasmin manages to stutter out her lines, but then the Doctor comes closer. There is an awkward pause, and the Doctor's lips graze her cheek for a brief moment before she pulls away. It's all perfectly professional, but it makes Yasmin feel like a clumsy pre-teen; she backs up and almost stumbles over one of the stage props._ _

__The Doctor catches her by the sleeve of her shirt and pulls her upright, and Yasmin falls forward right into the bodice of the Doctor's lace dress._ _

__She's done talking. It's gotten her nowhere, and so she slowly eases closer and kisses her fully. It only lasts a moment, and now...now they've gone off-script._ _

__"Change of plans," The Doctor whispers, and Yasmin isn't sure if it's a statement or a question. She sweeps up her long skirt in one hand and takes Yasmin's in the other, and then they're both walking off stage, right in the middle of their scene._ _

__They hear the slow ripple of oohs and ahs, the growing wave of the audience's surprise, but the Doctor pays them no mind as she breaks into a run, still holding Yasmin's hand._ _

__"Let's go, fam," she says, and Ryan and Graham follow them. "I'll just have to owe Shakespeare another favor and I'm more than ready to get rid of this ridiculously cloying material."_ _

__Yasmin can barely comprehend what's happening. "I--what?"_ _

__"We're going to have a mob after us soon," the Doctor explains. "Because I guarantee that's the first time the people of London have seen two women kiss on a stage. So...we really need to go."_ _

__"Oh, wow," Graham puffs behind them. "So...you two just made history, then?"_ _

__"Yes, I suppose we did," the Doctor replies, and her tone softens as she gives Yasmin a smile. "It's about time."_ _

**Author's Note:**

> For reference:
> 
> The Doctor as Olivia  
> Yasmin as Cesario/Viola  
> Ryan as Sebastian  
> Graham as Sir Toby


End file.
